Lot 181 Lagos SG#2 2d Deep Blue 2nd Printing Crown CC Watermark Perf.12.5 Fair-40 OG, Net Est. $15

A presentable and fair mint OG example of the 2d deep blue Queen Victoria De La Rue Keyplate stamp from the 1874-1876 Perf. 12.5 Crown CC issue. According to J.F Ince in his definitive work, there were a total of 14,160 stamps issued across 4 different printings between May 12, 1874 and May 13, 1875. This example is from the very scarce second printing from September 14, 1874, of which only 2,520 stamps were printed. Vertical wove paper showing no visible mesh and watermarked crown CC. Full original gum, only moderately hinged and is unusual, as crown CC issues often do not have gum.

2022 Scott Classic values a VF-75 mint example of the more common fourth printing at $80 USD. As only 18% of all the 2d's printed were second printings, we are of the opinion that they should be worth at least 50% more than this amount. But for this grade, we estimate the value at $15. The stamp offered here grades Fair-40 mint OG as follows:

Margins/centering: 54/70

Paper freshness: 1/5

Colour: 5/5

Impression: 5/5

Absence of visible paper flaws: 5/5

Perforations: 0/10

Adjustment for thinning and trimmed perfs: -30 points